80 Days of Summer - Day 7

Posting a little early because we're about to head for Mesa Verde National Park. Leaving as soon as Brandi returns from a business trip to Wendover (she's the HR over the Moab and Wendover offices for Intrepid Potash). Haven't seen her since Sunday night since I was at scout camp, and she was gone when I returned. We've explored the amazing ruins of Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, countless ruins across the Navajo Reservation, and recently spent several days at Hovenweep National Monument exploring ruins there. Mesa Verde has long been on our wish list. I will post Days 8-10 on Sunday as one post covering the trip when we get back. 

 Worked some today - my summer is pretty flexible since my school is so small; I can mainly work from home with kids out for the summer. I went for a 4 mile run with Annie (who is going to start high school this year and cross country practice begins in a few weeks for her). I can't believe I have a high school age kid. It was fun running with her in the relatively cool morning air along Mill Creek and chatting about her upcoming year of school and her recent trip with Grandma to Washington, D.C. She has an ingrown toenail, so I had to doctor it when we got home - lots of blood, pus, and a flap of skin from when she tried to cut it out the other day. Gross. Loaded up the camper with food and supplies today. It's set for the summer. Hope to get out a lot this year with the kiddos around the west. I even cleaned the truck for the first time in a year. Still had mud all over it from the elk hunt last October.

 I keep running into the Sony Pictures dudes all over town. They're set up at the middle school. Two major motion pictures are being filmed in Moab right now. Johnny Depp and Will Smith are both in town. Depp is filming a Lone Ranger movie, and Will Smith and his kid are filming some alien movie. Annie and I ran past the middle school right by the "Star Wagon" movie star trailers and the film trucks. You can tell when a star is there because there are security details all over the place. None out this morning, so no stars on the lot. Will Smith's movie is being filmed out at Brandi's work. Several of the employees have met him, but they recently put the kabosh on trying to sneak out and meet him on the sets. I guess he helicopters in to the sets (which are 15 miles out of town at the mines), so seeing him is tricky.

Here's where I work - Moab Charter School. We recently had an artist on grant work with the kids to develop this giant mural using 14 sheets of 4x8 plywood. It's huge! Pretty cool, but kind of "in your face." I don't know if I love it or hate it.